Confident in You
by dhbPATHWAY1997
Summary: Mindless Percabeth fluff I wrote a long time ago... Percy and Annabeth just hanging out at camp and figuring out their relationship. Short fluffy stuff placed right after The Last Olympian, before all of the Lost Hero sadness! Reviews would be nice.
1. Picnic Perfect

Annabeth's POV

"What're you gussying yourself up for, sis?" teased one of my younger brothers as I sat on the armrest of a plush chair in the boys' room of the Athena cabin, trying desperately to fold my hair into a nice braid behind my neck. "Is there a Camp Half-Blood prom I don't know about?"

"Oh, shut up, Randy."

"Oh… I know what it is! You're going to see Percy, aren't you?" he asked mockingly, propping his head up on his fists.

"So what if I am?" I asked, my voice full of a sort of snobbish contempt. I stood up from my desk, having finally successfully braided my suddenly unruly hair. As soon as I'd taken a few steps, I heard a _snap!_ and saw a small, broken pink band laying on the floor next to my foot. "Oh, Zeus…" I swore under my breath. "Not again…"

"Hey, Annabeth, what time is it?" asked Randy.

I glanced at my watch. "Five minutes to nine."

He groaned. "I was supposed to meet Cleo at the stables at eight thirty… Do you know if she's up yet?"

"How would I know?"

"I don't know! Could you check?"

I sighed and glanced out the window towards the Demeter cabin. Just as I looked out, the door closed behind Cleo Dunham, tugging on a jacket and running out the door, looking at her watch.

"She's running late, too; she just left. You might be able to beat her there if you hurry."

Randy jumped out of bed, tugged on some jeans at the end of his bed and slipped on some torn-up Vans.

"Thanks, Annabeth!" he kissed my cheek on the way out the door.

"No problem," I said as I found another hair band to try another braid.

The rest of the boys in this room were still sound-asleep, save for Peter, an eighteen-year-old who was out doing rounds with some of the other older campers. I only sat in here because this room had the quiet I wanted. With Kara talking in her sleep in the other room and me being unable to shut her up, no matter how much duct tape I used, I decided I'd be better off here, unnoticed.

I was, indeed, getting ready to meet Percy. It was a week after the Battle of Olympus, most of us still recovering from bigger injuries, like me. We agreed we'd meet at nine-thirty by the lake, and he'd lead me to our picnic spot. I was bringing the food, which I'd prepared last night, and he was bringing the blanket and other things he said were essential to a picnic. I'd gotten up at five-thirty this morning just to make sure that I'd have everything ready. I didn't mean the food – I meant my appearance. In the last week, it had been suddenly extremely important to me that I looked as appealing as I could manage, down to the last free-flying hair. Every blemish mattered to me for some reason. I'd even – gasp – put on makeup for the first time, listening taking Amber (from the Aphrodite cabin)'s advice very seriously. But my stupid hair was going to make me late!

I almost yelled in frustration when the hair tie I had put in my hair snapped into a straight line on the floor. That was the eleventh one! I didn't have _that _much hair! I looked around to find another tie – I'd brought a whole box – but when I looked into the little plastic box, there was only a barrette in it. That had been my last hair tie… _Gah! _I wanted to yell again.

I went to go look in a mirror in the girls' bathroom. I spread my hair out over my shoulders. I had been braiding and un-braiding and fiddling with my hair so long that it looked intentionally crimped, and, after fussing with it a bit more, it looked…nice. I put the barrette in it to the side to give it a little something extra and decided that would suffice. I glanced at my watch again. It read nine-thirteen.

I went to my bed quietly and gathered up my things – picnic basket, sketchbook and pencils, etcetera – and placed them in a neat pile on the end of the bed. I looked down at my purple and green casual sundress, wondering if it was really too fancy, and suddenly questioning my brown sandals, too. I looked through my small wardrobe. I dug through the clothes, desperately wishing I had anything else. I found a nice, knee-length denim skirt and a casual-enough white blouse and decided to keep the sandals.

My watch now read nine twenty-four. The window above my head faced the general direction of the Poseidon cabin. There seemed to be no activity inside of the cabin, but I had faith in Percy. He'd remember. I quietly crept to the door of the cabin and opened it. I quickly closed the door behind me and jumped down the stairs, eager to get to the river. It was only about a five-minute walk and I got there in time for my watch to tell me it was nine twenty-nine. I sat down by the riverbank on a big stone, my skirt settling nicely around my legs. I took out my sketchbook and started drawing a family of ducks I spotted on the river. In a few moments' time, I heard running footsteps, and I turned around, putting my sketchbook back inside the picnic basket.

Percy was running towards me, looking anxious. He came closer and settled into a walk, catching his breath. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" he apologized. "I'm so sorry I'm late!" I checked my watch: nine thirty-one.

"By a minute…" I muttered, trying to sound irritated. I turned my back to him, pretending to be upset.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down so I was laying on my back, looking right into his eyes, then he released my waist and took my hands in his. "Please forgive me?" he asked sweetly, with a face that looked even sweeter and even a little worried, as if I'd never get over it.

"Hmm," I hmm-ed, thinking about it. He looked even more anxious.

"Please, please, please, please, please…?" he chanted, kissing every part of my face.

I laughed and took his face in my hands, kissing him right on the lips and silencing him. "It was just a _minute,_ Seaweed Brain!" I laughed. He grinned goofily, some of his messy hair hanging in his face. Gods, he was gorgeous….

"So did you bring the blanket?" I asked, sitting back up as Percy came around to sit beside me on my rock.

He looked startled, and he froze. "Blanket…right…" I laughed at his guilty face.

"It's all right…" I said, glancing around. "We can use this rock! It's very nice." Percy laughed.

"Okay. Sorry…again…"

"Oh, stop apologizing," I laughed. I took out the contents of the picnic basket, laying them all out in front of us like a buffet. I handed him a plate and we ate a nice late breakfast/early lunch until more campers started to wake up.

When the swim team started showing up for morning practice at eleven o'clock, we left, leaving the picnic basket under a tree by the rock and walking just with each other, hand in hand. We followed the river into a very beautiful part of edge of the forest, where the sunlight shone down through the bright green of the trees and the grass was soft, with white and yellow flowers encircling most of the trees. We had talked all the way here, but I stopped, silent when we reached a very large tree, which had a vast canopy of verdant branches with pink flowers hanging down.

"It's so beautiful… Is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked Percy, gesturing to the grandiose tree.

"You like it? It just seemed like a place I could see you sitting and thinking, or drawing. It's very relaxing."

"Oh, I love it here!" I exclaimed happily. I laid down on the grass so that my feet were barely hanging off into the river, my sandals cast aside somewhere next to me. I patted the grass beside me. "Come on!" I beckoned Percy to the ground. He kicked off his shoes next to him as I'd done and let his feet hang into the water as well. Then he took back my hand and turned towards me. I turned towards him as well, and we just stared at each other for quite some time until something in my mind clicked.

He was funny, and smart, and extremely handsome, and brave, loyal, determined, sweet, caring, and an overall beautiful person. He'd never leave me, he'd never do anything to intentionally hurt me…and I could never do anything to hurt him. I could honestly see a future for us. I pictured a house by a lake, with cherry trees all around it, and Percy and me lying by said lake, much like we were doing now. The scene was beautiful, and just as I'd thought it to myself, I said it out loud, unthinkingly: "I love you."

Percy blinked, and raised his eyebrows. I blushed profusely, sure that about seventy percent of my blood had just rushed into my face. He seemed to process my words for an agonizing moment. Then, "I love you, too."

I grinned widely at him, and he grinned back. I closed the distance between his body and mine and I kissed him, now knowing what people meant when they said they felt sparks fly.

We spent the rest of the afternoon like that, curled up on the edge of the water, talking and laughing and simply enjoying each other's company.

Ah, bliss. Ah…love.

**A/N: Hmm… This WAS going to be a one-shot, but I find that I rather like this… Whilst I have other obligations to Harry Potter fan fiction as well as things like school and such nonsense, I'll try to actually work on this. Oh, such fun! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or any of its wonderful-ness. **


	2. The Consequences of Friendship

Percy's POV

We talked about just about everything we could think of: camp, home, food, animals, architecture, and etcetera. This afternoon had been the best of my life, honestly. Her hand in mine, I loved it when, after I'd looked at her for more than a moment, she'd blush and look down, smiling. I never thought I'd be this…mushy…but she was _so _darn cute.

Annabeth and I lay with our feet in the river, feeling the occasional fish bump up against my ankle now and again. It was very peaceful, with only the birds' and our voices filling the full silence of the edge of the forest. Once, a deer came into the small clearing and Annabeth quickly shushed me. "Look!" she whispered, excited. The deer, a small doe, came closer to us and looked at us questioningly as if to ask if we meant her harm. When we didn't move, she laid her head down in the grass to eat, and we watched her for a good ten minutes at least and then we watched her slowly and quietly leave.

"I didn't know there were deer here!" Annabeth exclaimed excitedly.

"Me neither," I said, smiling at her smile.

There wasn't anything else particularly eventful about that afternoon, but that was fine by me. The quiet, punctured every so often by mine and Annabeth's laughter was reassuring and giving me confidence: I'd been more than a little nervous about meeting her here today. But it wasn't anything like I'd expected it to be, for which I was grateful. For a first date – as I assumed this was one – there didn't seem to be any pressure, or awkwardness, or any expectations. We were just like we had been for the last five years, but with a new little spark anytime I looked at her or touched her.

We were just close enough to the strawberry fields that their sweet perfume hung in the air, the water made pleasant rushing noises, and with the calm, bright late afternoon sun filtering through the tall canopy, I was sure that this was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

When we'd been talking and laughing under the trees for nearly six hours, I realized how tired I was. I yawned, trying to cover it up so Annabeth wouldn't notice. But, she did, and with how infectious yawns can be, she yawned too. We still didn't speak; we just looked up through the trees. I felt Annabeth getting limper and limper, falling asleep. Before she could, though, she turned and faced me again. She seemed to be in deep thought, looking straight into my sleepy eyes.

"What is the best thing in your life?" she asked softly, stifling another yawn.

I thought about that for a second, considering all of the most important things in my life: my mom and Paul; my dad, Poseidon; my Cyclops half-brother, Tyson; Grover; Camp Half-Blood; Thalia and all of my friends at camp; the ocean and it's pull as it called to me from any position I may be in. But by "best," I thought "most important," and the thing I really couldn't live without. Without water, I would have no source of power. Without my mom, I wouldn't feel that I had anymore family: though I had my friends who I loved, she was one of my few blood-relatives who I could really get along with and loved. I loved Tyson and Grover and Thalia, and my dad, but… Just _what _was the thing I'd given up immortality for? Nothing in my life meant anything anymore without my best friend and, now, girlfriend at the center of it.

"Have you forgotten the question, Seaweed Brain?" she asked sleepily, but still awake enough to tease me.

"No…"

"Then that's quite a bit of deep thinking going on in your head," she joked, patting the side of my head.

"It really is." She looked up at me in earnest. "This is going to sound really cheesy…" I warned, and she rolled her eyes and smirked at my awkwardness. "I honestly think you're the best thing in my life."

She smiled shyly, a sudden deep blush flooding her beautiful face. "Good, 'cause that's what I was going to tell you too. But, you know, about you."

I laughed quietly, pulling her completely into my arms, her face tucked into my chest and my face buried in her lightly strawberry-scented hair. I felt her yawn again and I closed my eyes, a light breeze tousling my hair and moving the front parts out of my face. I started humming a song I knew Annabeth liked – we'd heard it on the radio at some point or another; I was too tired to remember when – and her body fell completely limp and I knew she was out. I continued humming for myself, and my last thought before I fell under: _Best. Day. Ever._

Annabeth's POV

"Aw!" I heard someone squeal excitedly. "Grover, aren't they just so cute?" It was Juniper who awoke me from my nap, and I blushed deeply when I realized that I was still curled up against Percy's chest, his arms around me and his face in my hair. Our feet were even tangled up, one of mine under and one between his ankles. He jumped in his sleep and awoke, apparently hearing Juniper, too.

"They're adorable. Now, honey, maybe we should go back to the other side of the river…?"

"Oh, but…" Juniper didn't seem to want to leave. "Oh, you don't have your camera, do you?"

"No….?" Grover said, sounding confused and impatient.

"Aw…" Juniper whined sadly.

I felt Percy stir above me. "Should we say something?" I whispered to him.

"No." He chuckled. "Maybe if we just ignore them, they'll go away."

I chuckled too. "Hey, they're awake!" Grover said, beaming down at us.

Percy groaned sleepily and buried his face farther into my now tangled locks, squeezing me tighter to him, obviously wishing to go back to sleep.

"Oh, ho, what do we have here?" said an unpleasantly familiar voice then. Clarisse.

Now I groaned. Clarisse wasn't that bad, I just didn't want her butting in on my Percy-time, already being interrupted by Grover and Juniper.

"Chris! Connor! Travis! Get over here!" he bellowed now. Connor and Travis Stoll may not have been some of Clarisse's favorite people, but she was apparently willing to make Percy and me a spectacle to everyone. Within moments, half of the Hermes cabin, most of the Ares, about three-fourths of the Athena, and all of the Poseidon (wink) cabins were surrounding Percy and I, whom had finally sat up and were not enjoying the fact that our private getaway was being disturbed by these outsiders.

I glanced up at Juniper, irritated. _Sorry,_ she mouthed apologetically.

_Don't apologize, just fix it!_ I mouthed back.

She glanced around at the audience, most of who were either glaring at me or making kissy faces. A few of younger girls from the Aphrodite cabin, Sofia, Kathy and Michele, had begun chanting "KISS, KISS, KISS, KISS!" Juniper seemed to have no ideas. Then a spark of brilliance ran across her beautiful features. She grabbed Grover's hand, startling him who had just been standing by, looking bored. She tugged Grover over to a spot well in everyone's view. Very theatrically, she dipped him quite low to the ground and kissed him, shocking the audience, whose attentions were fully on them now. I grabbed Percy's hand, and though he still looked dazed from recent sleep, I pulled him up, and we started to run by the crowd, but Percy had a somewhat better idea. Still keeping a hold of my hand, we jumped right into the river.

Through the loud splash I heard a whining "Oh, not again…" from one of the campers above the water. Percy let us sink to the bottom of the river, which was considerably not deep here, only about forty feet, then he put an extremely large bubble around us – about the size of a closet – and dried us off. He looked strained, like this had taken a lot of energy, and I suggested he should sit down. He did so, and leaned up against the edge of the bubble – apparently you could do that. I sat next to him, wrapping my arms around his waist, curling my legs up next to me and laying my head on his shoulder. He put his right arm over my shoulders. We sit like this for about ten or fifteen minutes.

"You think they'd be gone?" I ask softly, knowing he's not asleep but still feeling the need to talk quietly.

"I don't know. But I'd rather not risk it. Plus, it's great here, isn't it?" I looked around our safe haven. Fish of all colors that I didn't know were even remotely indigenous to America were flitting by our bubble. The seaweed and other water plants swayed in the water currents and created a small sort of algae field that a few bottom-dwelling fish were swimming through. The light from the canopies above the river reflected a half-white, half-green light down into the water and made for a kaleidoscope of an underwater color scheme that looked like it could be made into a gem.

"Yeah, it is. It's beautiful," I agreed.

"Eh, but never as beautiful as you," he said, making me blush. A few months ago, that might have been the most corny, most fake-sounding thing I'd ever heard, but now all I could think was how sweet it was. After I'd told him I loved him and kissed him earlier, all I wanted was to do it again, but I restrained, not wanting to seem pushy.

I slumped down a little farther onto his shoulder, the blush slowly creeping from my cheeks. We sat there for a few more moments until suddenly, in a perfect rendition of my wildest dreams, Percy spun me as best he could as we were still sitting and kissed me, holding me just above his knee, and I clung to his neck, kissing him back enthusiastically. Well, I didn't feel very _pushy _anymore, especially since I guessed Percy didn't. Which I was absolutely, perfectly fine with. I didn't think about how it was getting late and we'd need to get back to the mess hall soon, or how there might still be a few irritating campers waiting at the surface for us, or how angry my mother would be if she knew what I was doing right now. I focused on my Seaweed Brain, and how his silky hair actually did feel like the softest seaweed under my fingers. For perhaps the first time in my life, happiness was the emotion that reigned supreme in my messed-up, know-it-all, daughter-of-Athena head.

Percy's POV

_Squee! _

**A/N: Hahaha, I couldn't resist: I HAD to make Percy say "Squee!" That was sort of my catchphrase whenever my ex would make me feel like that. Sigh. 'Nough of my sob stories! Hope you liked the chapter! PLEASE review! This story started out as just a cute little one-shot I'd be doing, but I'm hoping to start developing (gasp) an actual **_**plot **_**soon! Lol. Thanks for reading!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy, or Annabeth. But Kathy and Michele and Sofia are girls in my band… SO annoying… XD**


	3. Rebellion

Annabeth's POV

With Percy's hand on my back to keep me dry, I peeked up through the surface of the water. "Are they still there?" I heard Percy ask. I was wondering for a second how he could talk underwater, but, he was the son of Poseidon. Did I really have to question those kinds of things?

I looked around the general area of our part of the lake. The sun was just beginning to set and orange light filtered through the trees, making the overall effect of the clearing rather lonely. I was very glad it was lonely though: at least our adoring fans were gone. "Yup. They're gone."

"Oh, thank the gods…" he took my waist and pushed me up through the water and then clambered up on the bank behind me. Percy glanced at his watch. "Oh… five-thirty…" he groaned. "We should get back…" He looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry about our date being ruined…" he sighed.

"Oh, Seaweed Brain," I took his hand and began walking with him to the dining pavilion. "This has been the best day ever," I promised. "Don't worry."

"Really?" he looked hopeful, but unconvinced.

"Definitely!" I exclaimed.

He blushed and squeezed my hand gently.

By the time we got to dinner, most of the campers were already there. Some looked at us in suspicion, like they'd heard some rumors they couldn't believe. Others gave us smug, knowing glances that said, _Don't pretend we don't know what you two were doing in your little bubble._

I suddenly realized when we got to the last table in the pavilion that we'd have to separate for dinner. Sure, I'd see Percy later and get to talk to him at the bonfire, but I still didn't really want him to go and have to sit alone at his table. Tyson would be back from the forges for a visit in a couple of weeks, but until then, Percy was the only inhabitant of cabin three and the only diner at the third table.

Percy turned and kissed the top of my head and let go of my hand, saying quietly, "See you later," and winking. I blushed. I was doing that a _lot_ today… I ordered my cheeks to leave my blood to the rest of my body and went to go sit next to my siblings at the Athena table. I realized as I sat down that I was sitting right next to Randy, who looked absolutely depressed.

"What's the matter?" I asked, concerned, as he sat, twirling a straw in his glass of red Hawaiian Punch.

"Oh…nothing…" he muttered, an obvious lie.

"Come on, Randy…" I coaxed, putting my arm around his shoulders. "You know you can tell me anything… You know you _want _to tell me…" I tried to convince him.

"Oh? And why's that?" he asked sarcastically.

"Um… 'Cause I'm your favorite sister. Obviously," I laughed. He chuckled half-heartedly along with me.

"Yeah, I guess you are, Annabeth. It's…it's Cleo…"

"What happened? Both of you were late…she didn't get mad at you, did she?"

"Well…" he glanced toward the Demeter table where Cleo was talking animatedly to two of her sisters, who looked interestedly at Cleo's irritated face. "She sort of found every reason possible to be mad at me, actually."

"What happened? And why would her being angry with you upset you?"

He looked up at me with a look in his eyes that said something like, _Come on, sis. Easy answer. Why would I be upset if a girl is mad at me?_

"Oh… You like her? Like…_like_ her?" I asked quietly, trying to keep our conversation from the ears of our siblings and other campers.

We got up to get food. "Yeah… I just want to be her friend, for now, so she can get to know me, you know? And I want to know _everything_ about her…" he looked at me with a dreamy look in his gray eyes. "But, you know… I'm a know-it-all, and I tried to be smarter than her with the plants I was helping her with… She got mad. Kept telling me that she should know which plant would grow best in which soil and which fertilizers would be better in which type of pot…"

"I'm so sorry, Randy…" I said sadly.

He nodded like he was grateful for my sympathy and we got our food, made our sacrifices and sat back down at the table before we talked again. "Annabeth?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Did… Was Percy ever mad at you? Like, was he angry for something you'd done or said?"

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed. "Percy and I have _always_ been at each others' throats!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Wouldn't you guess? Athena and Poseidon…the rivalry…?"

"Right…"

"At least Athena and Demeter don't have a centuries-old grudge against each other to work against with Cleo. Just…be nice. Don't be a jerk, don't get caught looking at any other girls–"

"Annabeth! I wouldn't!"

"I know. You're honestly a good kid. She'd be an idiot not to fall for you," I told him tenderly.

"Thanks, Annabeth," he smiled. He still looked worried and sad, but there was a hope and determination that hadn't been there when I'd first sat down with him this evening. I'd have to have a prayer for Aphrodite tonight for Randy…and for me. Both of us deserved happiness, right? Plus, Randy and Cleo were really cute… Aphrodite sure loved a good love story, too. She had to help Randy.

Randy was obviously feeling better soon and he started talking with some of our siblings as the meal wore on. I started thinking about some of my earlier words with Randy about the rivalry between Poseidon and Athena and what it could've done to Percy and my relationship, or possible lack thereof. A very, _very _small part of my attraction to Percy was the rebellion that it meant against my mother. Just because of a three-thousand-year-old grudge, my mother couldn't approve of possibly the best guy on the planet, and certainly the best guy for me anywhere. That really ticked me off. Suddenly I couldn't stand not to be with Percy any longer. I wasn't suddenly feeling affectionate just because of anger towards my mother, but thinking about him honestly just wasn't as good as being with him.

I looked up at the head table where Chiron, Mr. D and some of the satyrs and dryads would be sitting to look over the campers. Apparently Mr. D had just told a hilarious joke because most of the head table's occupants had their heads buried in their arms or were falling out of their chairs, their shoulders shaking with laughter. Chiron had his head thrown far back in laughter, his eyes closed, and I took this as a moment of opportunity. Throwing myself off of the bench, I did a forward roll towards the third table, crawling on the ground behind the table's bench and sitting myself on it. While the first two tables might have been empty, the creatures and camp directors at the head table were so involved in their conversations that they didn't pay any attention to the uninvited guest at the Poseidon table.

Percy looked pleasantly surprised to see me, his eyes wide, but his face smiling. "Hey!" he said quietly, his voice expressing surprise, too.

"Hey," I replied, taking his hand. He'd just been sitting at the table, leaned back, his eyes closed for the last ten minutes only opened his eyes when he felt my weight on the bench next to him. He seemed glad to have company, which I was sure of. It couldn't feel great to always be alone, knowing that your only known brother is hundreds of miles away and you're left at camp, waiting for him to come home.

"What're you doing breaking the rules?" Percy accused jokingly.

"Oh, what's life without a little risk?" I chuckled.

"My girlfriend the rebel," he laughed too, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear with his right hand. "Hot," he added, smirking.

I laughed too, and blushed, smacking him on the arm playfully. He just chuckled. "So what's up with Randy? He looked pretty down."

"Girl troubles," I waved my hand in dismissal, smiling softly. "No biggie."

"Girl troubles? Who?" Percy looked honestly interested.

"Since when do you want to be up on the latest gossip?" I asked, crossing my arms incredulously.

"Well, Randy's a good kid. I've helped him in the sword fighting arena a few times. Great with offensive counters, but he's got to watch his defense. So who is it?"

"I'm not telling you!"

"Aww, why no-o-o-t?" he whined.

"Because! It's my brother's personal business! He doesn't need me telling everyone and their brother about his love life!"

"But I'm _not_ everyone _or_ their brothers!" he clasped his hands together in a begging position. "Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"_Please_?"

"_No!"_

"Aww, come on!" He laid his head on my shoulder and I felt his nose on my neck. I shivered. His voice was a little lower when he whispered, "Please tell me?"

"Percy…"

He snuggled into my neck a little farther. "Please…?"

I sighed, and it came out a little ragged. "C-Cleo Dunham," I breathed.

"AHA!" Percy said a little loudly, lifting his head quickly from my shoulder. "Cleo? Well, I have good news for you!"

Annoyed, I glared at him, the blush still in my cheeks. "What –" my voice was a little ragged still, and I cleared my throat. "What would that be?"

"Cleo likes Randy back."

"What?" my eyes bulged. "How do you know?"

I heard her giggling about him to her little friends. Those friends, actually," he pointed to the two girls listening to Cleo talk animatedly.

"Really? What did she say?" I'd forgotten to be mad at my boyfriend and I was now just excited to relay all of this information to Randy.

"I don't remember everything…" Percy said warningly. "But she said that he was cute, and that even though he was a know-it-all, it only made him more attractive. And something about his hair…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it was like…"

"Yes?"

He looked at me sheepishly. "I don't remember."

I laughed. "It's all right, Seaweed Brain, Randy will be happy about that."

"Ahem." The sound of someone clearing their throat was barely heard, but I knew it had come from the head table. I sighed.

"See you later then," I smiled at Percy.

"See you."

I got up and when I was almost back to the Athena table, I turned around and waved. Percy waved back. "I love you," he mouthed. I blushed.

"I love you too," I replied.

When I got back to the table, Randy was waiting for me in a significantly better mood than he'd been in earlier. "Hey," he greeted. "Done being a rebel for the night?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, guess so. _Hey,_ but I have good news for you!"

He looked at me curiously. "What…?"

"Cleo. She likes you."

"What?" his mouth fell open and his eyes bulged.

"Right? That was my thought! Percy said he overheard Cleo saying that she thought you were cute and that it only made you attractive that you were a know-it-all!"

"REALLY!" he practically yelled.

"Shh, calm down! Yes! Now _you_ just need to make your move," I grinned at him and winked. "And Randy?"

"Yeah?"

"Here's a tip: be a rebel." I glanced at Percy, remembering his words. "Rebels are hot."

**A/N: SOOOOO sorry this is SO late! I haven't written on this story in **_**forever**_**, mostly because I've been working on my Fruits Basket fic (Take a Chance on Me). But now that it's done, I should be working on my other stuff more, like this one, and I'll probably do a little more on Harry Potter… Either update my older ones (Debris – Hr/R, Mission: Together – L/J), or write a new Neville/Luna or a couple of one-shots. Anyway, thank you for your patients and all your wonderful comments and favorites! **

**Pathway 3**


	4. Worry

Annabeth's POV

"Hey, Annabeth," I heard a girl's voice call my name.

I spun around. "Oh, hey, Drew." Drew was the new Aphrodite cabin leader, after Silena was killed. "What's up?"

"Well, I heard a rumor that you and Jackson are together. Is it true, or what?" she smacked her gum, smiling strangely.

"Uh, yeah, it is…" I'd thought everyone would have known by now, after all, we'd been together for a little while and it seemed like _everyone_ had caught us asleep by the creek.

"But isn't he with the Rachel Oracle chick?" Drew twirled a lock of her perfectly-straightened hair around her finger.

"Well, considering that the Oracle is forbidden to marry or date, even, that would be impossible," I almost laughed at her obvious lapse in logic.

"Oh, right. Well, but I heard a rumor that he still likes her." Her and her rumors again – wait, what?

"What?" I tried to sound calm and only mildly curious.

"Yeah. I heard that Jackson still likes Rachel, and she still likes him, but since it's a whole forbidden romance thing, they're meeting up secretly."

That sounded so stupid, but yet… "I'm – I'm sure that's not true, Drew. Percy and I are really happy together and Rachel seems happy for us, too. Plus, she's away at school, so how–"

"He's been taking a Pegasus to see her."

It sounded possible… No, no, Percy would never cheat on me! Especially with his ex-girlfriend and when we'd just gotten together! "Well, thanks for worrying about me, Drew, but I think I'm going to trust Percy."

"Well, whatever," she laughed. "I have to go get a mani-pedi now from my sis. See you!"

"See you," I muttered. Percy was at sword fighting practice right now, teaching the younger ones from the Demeter cabin. I hoped it was going okay, considering that the Demeter kids usually just tried to choke their opponent with grape vines whenever they didn't have the upper hand.

_Forget about it, forget about it,_ I thought to myself as I walked across the field towards the Athena cabin. I had work to do, and I had to have a clear head to do it. _Forget about it, forget about it, forget about it…_

When I got to the cabin, I found that I was alone. That was perfectly okay… Just no distraction from my work! I flopped onto my bed and took out Daedalus's laptop, flipping it open. I clicked on the file labeled "Greenhouses" and opened up my blueprints. Using the drawing pad I'd gotten from my dad the other day, I traced the white lines that made up the long, flat glass building. But distressing thoughts kept on flitting through my head, giving me little inspiration and granting me only a few strokes before my pen would veer off, making strange marks that I'd have to take the time to erase.

I _had _to talk to Percy.

Percy's POV

"It's okay, Gracie, just try not to do it again?" I rubbed my neck.

She smiled, embarrassed. "I'll try. Sorry again, Percy."

I swear, if I was choked _one more time_ by a murderous vine, leaves would roll.

I understood, when I'd told Katie that I'd help the Demeter cabin, that they wouldn't be the best swordsmen I'd ever seen, but this was just ridiculous. Most of them only got one good stroke in – if that – before panicking and sending their plants to take me out for them. I tried to teach them the way that Luke had so successfully taught me, six years ago. I was patient and enthusiastic and I tried to be encouraging on a personal level, making sure I knew all of their names. I would take the time to show each kid how to do a move, and I really thought it would help, but I was wrong. I was horribly, terribly wrong.

I glanced at the clock on the wall of the arena, which read 11:58. Oh, good! I was supposed to meet Annabeth for lunch on the beach soon. It was my turn to bring food, so I'd had the lunch packed up the night before and sitting in my cabin on the bedside table, where I couldn't miss it.

"Okay, Gracie, let's try it one more time," I told the twelve-year old who, like her siblings, had no hope at this – ever.

"Okay…" She pointed the sword outward and I put Riptide in a defensive position. She suddenly thrust downward, aiming for my stomach and I parried, sending her blade upwards. I heard a squeal come from the young girl and I looked down to see my feet bound to the ground by thick roots that were slowly inching up my legs, making me immobile.

"Gracie…" I groaned, trying desperately to move.

"Sorry, Percy!" she gasped. Instantly, the roots disappeared in a green cloud, but my legs ached like I'd run a mile.

"No problem," I grunted through the dull pain. "You know what, guys?" Silence fell over the Demeter cabin as I flexed my leg muscles. "We should go, we're only two minutes early anyway. Go, enjoy…whatever it is you do. Go plant a cactus or something."

There were murmurings of "Okay, bye, Percy!" and "Thanks, Percy! You're the greatest!" and "Oh thank gods we're done for today."

Yeah, that's right. There was no way I'd ever be teaching the Demeter cabin again. I'd leave that to Chiron. Or, shoot, just let them go without sword training. They'd immobilize any opponent they needed to anyway with their stupid plants…

I waved half-heartedly as they left the arena. I had originally planned on showering or at least changing clothes before I met Annabeth, but the Demeter cabin hadn't given me the chance to even _start_ to break a sweat, so I just ruffled my hair back with my hand and went to the Poseidon to grab the food. When I got out of the cabin, Annabeth was walking out of her cabin, heading towards the beach.

"Annabeth!" I called out, running after her.

She spun around quickly with an almost…hurt expression. "Hey, Percy." She gave me a seemingly half-hearted smile. I crinkled my eyebrows.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?"I asked, concerned.

"Uh, nothing." She looked away quickly and turned back around to start walking again.

I immediately knew she must be upset about something I'd done, so I shifted the food into my left hand and grabbed her hand with my right, lacing my fingers between hers. She jumped a little, but when I squeezed her hand a little bit, she squeezed back. I saw the side of her cheek turn pinkish.

_Okay, Percy,_ I told myself. _Turn up the charm._

We settled on a spot near the water, where it would just barely wash up to our legs over the sand and I unloaded lunch. I'd packed simply, as I wasn't nearly as good at this kind of thing as Annabeth. I'd tried desperately to make decent-looking sandwiches that still came out looking a little more than strange. I'd given up after the fail sandwiches and packed packaged fruit cups and small bags of potato chips.

"Sorry that lunch sorta…sucks," I apologized, still trying to seem, I don't know, cute. I kept a hold of her hand while I unpacked, and she smiled just a little bit.

"It's okay. I'm sure it's fine." She looked intently at one of the sandwiches. "Um…is that… What is that, exactly?"

I laughed. "It's peanut butter and jelly!"

"Oh," she chuckled once. "For some reason I thought it was mud or something…"

"You really question my cooking skills so?" I asked her, jokingly insulted. "Come on, Annabeth, I wouldn't give you a mud sandwich!" I grinned in a playful sort of way, hoping to make her smile, too.

One side of her mouth quirked upwards, but it wasn't really the smile I'd hoped for. "Yeah, you wouldn't," she agreed.

Lunch wasn't horrible. The food wasn't great, and the conversation was mostly one-sided, but other than that… Yeah, it wasn't good. Annabeth just looked at the food or her hands or the ground pretty much the entire time, and nothing I said caused much of a reaction, to my great disappointment. Besides the fact that Annabeth was upset, I was losing my charm!

We'd lain on the beach for about three hours, with me desperately trying to get Annabeth to laugh, or smile, or even just speak. Finally, I sighed. "Come on, Annabeth. _What's wrong_?"

"It's nothing, Percy."

Considering that had been the fourth time she'd said that, I started to get frustrated. She was sitting with her legs crossed, her arms to her side and her head down, so I sneakily slid my head into her lap so that I was looking into her face. I was startled to see unshed tears in her beautiful eyes. "Annabeth! What is it?" She immediately looked up and away from me.

She muttered something nearly incoherent that sounded like "Please, don't make me ask..."

"Annabeth, please! I'm worried! You're crying! What's _wrong_?"

"DREW!" she screamed suddenly, startling me.

"D-Drew? What does she have to do with anything?"

"She –" sobs shook her voice as she spoke while tears poured down her face. "She said that she'd heard a rumor… That you and Rachel still liked each other… And that even though she wasn't supposed to date…You guys were meeting up secretly… You were taking Blackjack to go and see her…"

I stared at her, dumbfounded. I was too shocked to try to comfort her as she sobbed or defend myself against her accusations. I just sat and stared at her, openmouthed.

"Annabeth…" I finally muttered. As I got my bearings back, my sarcastic sense of humor came back to me. "Well, thank you for the compliment."

It was her turn to look confused. "W-W-What?" She wiped her cheeks.

"Well, you apparently think that I'm smart enough to cheat on a daughter of Athena without her finding out. You must consider me very cunning and stealthy, not to mention…ninja."

"What?" she repeated. "I just… So you… You admit it? You've been w-with Rachel?"

"No!" I said, dropping my sarcastic pretenses. "How could you think I'd cheat on you, Annabeth? And don't you think I'd respect the Ancient agreement that says that the Oracle isn't allowed to date? Plus, I have you! Why would I care about Rachel?"

"You're – you're sure?" she asked, unsure herself.

"YES! For a daughter of Athena, you're pretty dense sometimes," I muttered, a little stung that she'd think so lowly of me. There was a rumbling in the sky. "Should I pick a better word for you?" I directed to Athena, who I knew was just itching to blast me to bits right about now. "How about distrusting? Or paranoid? Or oblivious?"

"Percy…" Annabeth muttered finally.

"Yes?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Well, first, stop yelling at my mother." I blushed. "Second, I'm sorry. I'm just…the jealous type…"

"I know," I grinned. "It's cute."

She blushed too. "So…can we forget about this?"

"Yeah, of course. Just… Next time, before you start believing a rumor about me – especially one you heard from an Aphrodite kid – get some evidence?"

She chuckled. "I should. Yeah."

She was still kneeling on the ground, though I'd stood up. I took her by the hand and lifted her up off of the ground so she was looking up at me. "Besides. I would never, _never_ cheat on you, Annabeth. I don't love Rachel. I love _you._"

Tears welled again in her eyes. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her, feeling the tears still wet on her cheeks. When we broke apart, she smirked. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain."


End file.
